Board of Governors

Our talented and hardworking Governors set the strategic direction for HTS, enabling the school to focus on core initiatives, while ensuring its long-term sustainability.

In partnership with Head of School, Helen Pereira-Raso, the Board determines the school’s policies and priorities and oversees all financial and administrative functions. With their collective vision and guidance, HTS is able to fulfil its promise, holding firm to a higher standard of learning.

Meet our Board of Governors below:

Joseph Adamo, Vice Chair & Treasurer

Joseph serves as Executive VP Operations and Chief Financial Officer with the Umbra/TCH Group of Companies. Umbra is a global housewares design company operating in 15 countries with sales in every major retailer across the globe.

Lisa Chan

Lisa completed her B.A. (Hons) degree from University of Toronto and then started her career with TD Bank Group where she spent the first 10 years in the retail branch network, holding a variety of management positions. She spent her next 12 years in Human Resources Compensation prior to joining OMERS.

Gordana Colby

Kathryn (Rutherford) Foster '03, HTSAA

Kathryn Foster is the President of the HTS Alumni Association. She graduated from Western University with a B.A. (Hons) in 2007 and completed the Fundraising and Volunteer Management Program at Humber College in 2009.

Caroline Gayle

Holder of an MBA in Computer Information Systems, Caroline is Managing Director, Technology - Financial Services at Accenture, where she utilises her extensive experience to plan, manage, implement and support small- and large-scale technology solutions for her clients.

Keith Hickey

Keith is an executive with the Toronto-Dominion Bank Group where he serves as Vice President, Credit Operations of TD Auto Finance leading a large team of employees managing credit risk for the auto lending business in Canada.

Alexandra Iliopoulos, Secretary

Alex is a partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP practising securities and corporate law. She is the Co-Chair of the firm's Securities Group and regularly advises companies on corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, stock exchange listings and governance matters.

Alfan Jetha

Alfan is a proud father of three children Maya, Saara and Noaah. He and his wife Farzana, strive to provide a solid foundation of opportunity, philanthropy, education, resourcefulness and deep-rooted values and principles that allow for an exponential trajectory to which they had been provided by their parents, who were immigrants to Canada in the early 1970's.

Rich Parry

Michelle Risi-Anagnostopoulos

Michelle is a Real Estate Broker and the Executive Vice President at Royal LePage Your Community Realty, the largest Royal LePage franchise in Canada. With her primary focus on York Region, Michelle brings forth an understanding of local market trends and conditions, and demographic changes. Michelle is immersed in the community both through her business, as well as through her philanthropic giving.

Anna Sgro, Parents' Guild

Anna is a Senior Vice President, Caterpillar Alliance North America and North East USA at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world’s largest industrial asset disposition, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world, $5.3 billion of heavy equipment was sold by us in 2016. As Senior Vice President, she is responsible for Sales in Eastern Canada, North East USA, Strategic Caterpillar Alliance for North America, and a team of 350 plus representatives who look after client’s needs.

Peter Suma

Peter is currently Chairman and Co-CEO of Applied Brain Research Inc. (ABR) his third startup, he launched his first company, SRG Software, out of university and sold it nine years later. His whole career has been consumed with commercializing early-stage engineering or scientific research technologies.

Lucy Tao

Lucy Tao is Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of MetCap Living Group. MetCap Living is one of the largest privately held third party multi-family property management companies in Canada with a portfolio of 16,000 residential suites and over $2 billion of real estate assets under management. The Company manages portfolios throughout Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia. Its clients include pension funds, REITs, condominiums and private sector.

Frequently Asked Questions

List of 6 frequently asked questions.

The HTS Board is a governing Board. Its role is one of oversight, with the overriding objective being that HTS remains viable to serve the children of today’s students. To achieve this, the Board’s responsibilities can be divided into three main areas:

The hiring, training, support, evaluation, remuneration and, if necessary, dismissal of the Head of School

Providing oversight and guidance to the Head to ensure that the school is following policies, compliant with relevant law and regulations, managing risk, adhering to budgets and managing resources appropriately

Long term strategic planning to make sure that our school meets the needs of current students and that it evolves to meet the needs of future generations of HTS students

The Board is not involved with the day-to-day operations of the school such as bussing, curriculum, discipline, faculty, food, co-curriculars, or building maintenance. All of these areas, as well as anything else related to daily school life, are the responsibility of the Head of School.

Much of the work is done by Committees or Task Forces of the Board, each of which is chaired by a Governor. The Committees are comprised of Governors, staff members and non-Board members, as appropriate. The Head of School and the Board Chair are members of all the Committees and Task Forces. The Committees and Task Forces report their activity to the Board and make recommendations to the Board for approval. The Board meets six times a year between September and June.

Each year, the Governance & Nominations Committee determines the skill sets that will be required for the Board to achieve the goals that it has set for itself in the upcoming 3-5 year period. The Committee then identifies the gaps in knowledge or experience that will face the Board going forward and looks to fill those gaps. The Governance & Nominations Committee gathers suggestions, makes deliberations and then recommends nominees to the various Committees of the Board. The Governance & Nominations Committee is also responsible for suggesting selected Committee members to be invited to the Board. The number of new Governors added each year depends on the number retiring from the Board.

At HTS we welcome parent participation and there are many opportunities for parental involvement throughout the school, including:

Joining the HTS Parents’ Guild

The HTS Parents’ Guild is a volunteer organization and a valued part of the HTS community. The focus of the Guild ranges from fundraising to friendships and “fun-raising” through involvement in events such as the Father Bob Run, the Trinity Fair and the Carols & Cookies Chapel service.

Parents can also volunteer to be a Grade Parent, to work in the Hawk Shop or to be a Family Mentor. For more information on the many roles available to parents through the Guild, click here.

Volunteering for fundraising initiatives throughout the school

The school holds several fundraising events throughout the year including the Gala and other special events. Specific committees led by Chairs are established for large-scale events and there are many specialized roles within each committee for parents to fill.

Information about special events are typically communicated through SpotligHTS: the HTS Friday News and through the Advancement department. For more information on how you can contribute to a fundraising initiative or special event, please contact the Advancement department.

Participating in the HTS Golf Tournament

The HTS Golf Tournament is a great opportunity to network, to learn more about how to get involved in other areas of school life, and to have a good time with fellow members of the HTS community. This annual tournament takes place each spring.

Joining a Learning Team

A Learning Team is a vehicle through which faculty, staff, students and parents engage in learning about new innovations to support the implementation of the strategic plan. The Learning Teams meet regularly to study the current research around their topic, examine best practice globally around their topic and connect with key experts and resource people. Throughout the process of learning, they post their findings, questions and ideas for others to access. The ultimate product of the Learning Team is a presentation of their recommendations for change to the Extended Leadership Team. At the end of the year, the Learning Team share their ideas in a Learning Fair for the school community.

Contact the Board

If you have a question or suggestion for the Board, please contact the Board Chair, Rob Wittmann, at rwittmann@hts.on.ca.